While Guru Guides have been available for some time, registration has been handled solely via TiVo’s web site. With this week’s update, TiVo subscribers can now opt-in to a variety of Guru Guides direct through the TiVo interface.

Guru Guides refresher:

TiVo Guru Guides are lists of television programs hand-selected by experts like Vogue and Sports Illustrated to help you discover and automatically record the best TV programming in various categories like cooking, sports, fashion, home & garden, and more. You can record all shows in a Guru Guides list or choose just the shows that interest you most. Guru Guides generally deliver 3-10 hours of programming every week and are updated regularly, as new shows air, so you’re always sure to be watching the freshest, hottest, most interesting programs on TV!

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Let’s face it, there are only so many hours in the day you can actually watch TV. I consider myself a huge TV nut and certainly do my best to boost up the national average, but even with my voracious appetite for film, I still can’t keep up with everything that is being produced right now, let alone all the good films that have been made in the past.

Add to this distractions from the internet, real life, my poker habit, and this little thing called work that I’ve actually got to do once in a while, and it’s clear that something has to give. Because we’re limited by time, consumers are forced to choose between not just what we watch, but how we watch it as well.

In a great post highlighting the smackdown between DVDs and DVRs in competing for our attention, The One Eyed Man Rules, covers the various reasons behind why the DVR has replaced the DVD in his life. Among the advantages are the problems that come up when his kids use DVDs as frisbees, the speed at which it takes for you to boot up a DVD compared to the ease of hitting a button on a DVR and having your programming right there, and being forced to watch a bunch of crappy Disney ads vs. being able to fast forward past ads on a DVR. (more…)

When I first read that CinemaNow has added new programming via deals with Showtime and A&E, I didn’t think too much about it. After all, iTunes already already offers the same programming and, generally speaking, buying television shows at $2 a pop doesn’t appeal to me. However, CinemaNow must have some sort of exclusive deal with Showtime — They’ve got the first episode of Sleeper Cell, Season 2 (and for free!)… which is MIA on iTunes. While I have a DVR (or several), I don’t subscribe to Showtime… So buying episodes is not an entirely unreasonable proposition in this case. (I Netflix-ed the first Sleeper Cell mini-series.)

In the past, the SVideo output from my laptop (to TV) has worked well for iTunes video playback. But, as an Xbox 360 and Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) owner I should be able to stream CinemaNow (and Movielink) content to my TV — somewhat more convenient than setting up the laptop and, more importantly, providing a remote to pause and rewind. As you can see, I’ve “purchased” that first episode (58 minutes, 670MB) and will give it a shot tonight!

Want to know how cable and telecom operators are going to compete in the short-term? One word: content.

Verizon has put a few notches in its lipstick case with recent sports content deals. Exhibit:

1. FiOS TV Signs the NFL Network
I’ve been skeptical of the NFL Network, but it does carry a few critical games that aren’t otherwise available in certain markets. There’s been a big brouhaha over this in both San Antonio and Washington DC, where the regional cable operators will be depriving fans of a Dallas-Atlanta game and a Ravens-Bengals game respectively. (Verizon kindly posts a cable v. FiOS comparison on the matter on its new blog…)

2. NFL Online
Starting December 7^th, Verizon will offer “live NFL Network sports and entertainment programming� online to its broadband customers.

3. Verizon Gets Comcast SportsNet (?!)
Presumably in a move to appear anti-monopolistic, Comcast has given Verizon the right to carry Comcast SportsNet on its FiOS TV service. This is a big deal for Verizon because some customers might not consider a switch to FiOS if they couldn’t watch local games shown only on Comcast SportsNet.

So Verizon’s doing well in the sports department. But don’t think that cable operators are sitting idly by. Comcast, for example, has signed a deal for extensive VOD content from Disney, including popular ABC shows. The content wars are just beginning.

Seeing as how the new fall season is well underway (and in some cases nearly over), we thought we’d share the top programming on our DVRs. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…

Davis

• Survivor
• The Office
• Heroes
• American Dad
• CSI Miami

Mari

• Studio 60
• House
• Battlestar Galactica
• Veronica Mars
• College Basketball

Dave

• Jericho
• Lost
• Battlestar Galactica
• Robot Chicken
• College Football

What are we missing? What’d we get wrong?

One of the first shows canceled this television season was CBS’ Smith. As one of about a dozen viewers, I was disappointed when they decided to pull the plug on the weekly heist drama after only three episodes. But I can’t say I’m surprised… The show obviously had a big budget for actors, sets, and effects — so they need to find an audience quickly and they didn’t pull it off.

Their first obstacle was one they imposed upon themselves: the title. Whereas Lost evokes mystery and Heroes suggests adventure, Smith just seems dull, common. The other major challenge Smith faced was the pacing. It’s a pretty slow moving drama — quite an accomplishment when you consider the characters “execute high-stakes robberies.” Perhaps, it could have done better on HBO or Showtime where this sort of content has thrived (think The Wire, Sopranos).

So about a month after Smith’s demise, what’s CBS to do with the remaining four episodes that they filmed? Sell them for $2 a pop on iTunes and Amazon Unbox, of course! CBS is also kindly offering free streaming of the last episodes via their (advertising-supported) web site Innertube. But wait! There’s more! CBS.com has just posted a 5 page synopsis for each of the next five episodes (8-12) that were never shot.

So what am I going to do? I’ll let Smith rest in peace and rent The Score to satisfy any unfulfilled heist jones.